Business News of Tuesday, 9 June 2020

Source: laudbusiness.com

BOST margin increment smacks of betrayal – NDC

Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) logo Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) logo

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo betrayed Ghanaian following the increment in the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) margin, Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has said.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) in a statement said the BOST margin which used to be three pesewas per litre had been increased by an additional three pesewas.

The regulator in the statement explained that the increment was approved by Cabinet.

“We write to inform you of a review of the BOST Margin in the Price Build-Up (PBU) of petroleum products effective 1st June 2020. This is in line with a decision taken by Cabinet and communicated to the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) by the Ministry of Energy,” the statement said.

But addressing the press on Monday, Sammy Gyamfi intimated that: “This latest action of President Akufo-Addo at a time the nation is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and its attendant economic effects is a monumental betrayal of the trust of Ghanaians and smacks of the insensitivity of the highest order.

“President Akufo Addo’s decision to punish the already impoverished Ghanaian with more taxes, for his corrupt acts and that of his errant appointees that have brought BOST to its knees is most insensitive and completely unacceptable.”

“Even more bizarre and painful is the fact that, after running down BOST through corruption and thievery, President Akufo-Addo who preached against the imposition of taxes on petroleum products while in opposition, and promised to move Ghana from taxation to production if elected, has recently increased the BOST Margin the Mahama government had promised to scrap, by 100% on petroleum products, that is from 3 pesewas to 6 pesewas, ostensibly to raise funds for the management of the company he has collapsed.”